Optical sources, particularly broadband optical sources such as semiconductor light sources, are used in a variety of applications in which a stable wavelength of the emitted optical signal is important. For example, in ring laser and fiber optic gyroscope systems, a light source emits a light beam which is split. The resulting two light beams are then supplied to respective ends of an optical path. The two beams counterpropagate along the optical path, are recombined at the beam splitter and are received by a detection system for detecting the phase difference between the two counterpropagating light beams. If the gyroscope is at rest, the path length around the optical path is ideally the same for both light beams so that no phase difference between the two light beams will be detected. However, as the gyroscope rotates, the time that is required for one beam to travel the path is different than the time that is required for the other beam to traverse the path. In effect, one of the beams will travel a longer path than the other beam. Since the phases of the two beams are a function of the time required to travel their respective paths, any difference in that time between the two light beams will result in a phase difference.
Rotation of the gyroscope does not affect the frequency (i.e. wavelength) of the optical signal. However, environmental changes, such as temperature changes, can influence the wavelength of the signal supplied to the gyroscope by the optical source. Since the phase difference (i.e. phase shift) between the counterpropagating light beams is dependent upon wavelength as well as rotation, a constant wavelength is necessary so that the relationship between rotation and phase difference is repeatable from measurement to measurement. Therefore, it is important to minimize the effects of these environmental changes on the wavelength of the source optical signal so that any changes in phase of the output optical signals is due to rotation and not to changes in environmental conditions.